http://fwp.mt.gov Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks en-US 25718 360 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss (pics-1.1 "http://www.icra.org/ratingsv02.html" comment "ICRAonline EN v2.0" l r (nz 1 vz 1 lz 1 oz 1 cz 1) "http://www.rsac.org/ratingsv01.html" l r (n 0 s 0 v 0 l 0)) http://fwp.mt.gov/images/fwp_88x31.jpghttp://fwp.mt.gov/news/8831Fri, 09 May 2008 12:23:28 GMT FishingFri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT FASs that allow camping = 105. An overnight camping fee is only charged at 53 of them. FASs fully ADA accessible = 50 FASs located on lakes and reservoirs = 50. The remaining are on streams and rivers. Largest FAS = Thompson Chain of Lakes at 2, 290 acres Smallest FAS = Roche Jaune at 1.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6774.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6774.aspx FishingFri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT With residential development requests on the increase in Montana, a state task force is offering local officials, planning boards and others a chance to learn how streamside planning can help to conserve local values, protect private property, guard builders and local governments against lawsuits, and boost economies.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6772.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6772.aspx FishingFri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Attention boaters: new boat validation decals are needed before you launch your boat this year. The red validation decal obtained for motorboats, sailboats, or personal watercraft expired at the end of February and should be removed or covered. The new decal needed before launching boats this spring is green in color and is valid through Feb. 28, 2011.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6771.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6771.aspx FishingFri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Patti Sowka, director of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, got the call on a recent Tuesday afternoon. A facility maintenance person found an ailing loon wrapped in fishing line near the Big Sandy fishing access site at Hauser Lake. Gerry Ryan, a Montana Wildlife Center volunteer, picked up the loon and delivered it to Swoka, who quickly sent it to a local vet for treatment and an X-ray. The loon had ingested two fishhooks and did not survive.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6769.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6769.aspx FishingFri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking public comment on two fundraising fishing contests and one contest rescheduled for the open water season of 2008. Participants must comply with state fishing regulations, including daily and possession limits. Here are the dates and locations of the fishing contests.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6768.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6768.aspx FishingFri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT The third Saturday in May, May 17, is the 2008 general fishing season opener. That makes it a special day for thousands of anglers itching to fish Montana's rivers and streams. The general fishing season traditionally opens on the third Saturday of May, while fishing on the state's lakes and reservoirs is generally open year round.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6765.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6765.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Years ago, when my son was about six-years old, we went fishing near Helena at the York Bridge. He was casting near the boat launch, and typical of little boys, watching the launching of many different boats. About mid-morning, an out-of-state two-wheel drive truck, towing a large pull camper and a small fishing boat attached to the camper, pulled in. The older driver and his buddy started backing down the boat ramp.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6755.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6755.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Many kids wish they had a fishing-hole just a bike ride from their back door. That wish is a reality for kids in a few communities around the state, thanks to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and #39; new Community Ponds Program. Communities that have taken advantage of this new program include Whitehall, Hamilton, Missoula, Lewistown and, most recently, Great Falls. Many Montana towns have a river or stream running through them, or water running near the city limits.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6754.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6754.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT This time of year Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologists are eager to get back out on Montana and #39;s rivers and see how the state and #39;s fish are doing. "We and #39;ve monitored one section of the Jefferson River for nine years. We and #39;ve done a lot of work to improve fish habitat in the area, and that makes it even more exciting to get back and see how the fish are doing," said Ron Spoon, FWP Region 3 fisheries biologist.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6753.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6753.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT The removal of the Milltown Dam has caught the interest of fisheries biologists worldwide, said David Schmetterling, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 2 fisheries biologist charged with monitoring the related fisheries for the past 11 years. "It is an engineering marvel to remove a dam of this size and the millions of tons of toxic sediments from behind it," Schmetterling said. "A project of this scope has the short-term potential to harm the very aquatic environment it will ultimately benefit.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6752.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6752.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT 2007 marked the first 20 years of the Blackfoot River restoration initiative. Work in the Blackfoot has evolved into a ridgetop-to-ridgetop philosophy of conservation with restoration on 50 tributaries completed, many of which host westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout. The emphasis of the Blackfoot River restoration initiative is to restore degraded tributaries by improving riparian health and fish habitat.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6751.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6751.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT This past fall FWP biologists sampling fish on the Tiber Reservoir found a very uncommon fish for that water in the gill net--a shovelnose sturgeon. Because there has never been any evidence of the shovelnose reproducing in the Marias River above Tiber, and only about a dozen adult sturgeon have been found in Tiber since netting began in 1973, this fish is likely a relic of the Marias River before it was impounded 51 years ago. Sturgeon are very long-lived fish and mature slowly.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6750.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6750.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Montana and #39;s angling community received a big surprise when Missoula angler Bob Hart caught the new state record walleye from Tiber Reservoir on Nov. 18, 2007. Although Tiber produces good numbers of smaller walleye, it is not particularly known for producing trophy-sized fish. Hart and #39;s record walleye, measuring 35 inches in length and weighing 17.75 lbs., unseated Dan Spence and #39;s previous record by more than a pound. Spence and #39;s walleye was caught in Fort Peck in 2000.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6749.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6749.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Last year 390,000 anglers purchased fishing licenses. Residents comprise about 59 percent of the state and #39;s fishing-license buyers. About 33 percent of all adult Montana residents purchase fishing licenses annually. Nearly 82 percent of angler days are spent seeking trout and salmon. Some of the rivers that generally receive the most fishing pressure include the Madison, Missouri, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Bighorn, Yellowstone and Gallatin rivers.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6748.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6748.aspx FishingWed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Montana's fishing season officially opens the third Saturday in May, and that is May 17 this year. That means eager anglers are already digging out their tackle boxes, throwing out dried up bait and dreaming over new tackle at sporting goods stores on the weekend.http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6747.aspx http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_6747.aspx